Hard Hit: Dave Duerson
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the Duerson family
By his graduation from high school in 1978, Dave was a star student and a musician who traveled Europe playing the sousaphone with his high school band. He could run the 400-yard dash in 4.4 seconds and throw a fastball at 95 mph. He turned down an offer to pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers, a decision that would prove spring-loaded with consequence.
From the outside, former NFL star Dave Duerson seem to have it all: wealth, success, and notoriety. But that all changed on February 17, 2011, when Duerson took his life in his Sunny Isles Beach condo. What everyone quickly discovered, that despite his braggadocio, Duerson had no income, was heavily in debt, and was afraid he was losing his mind. Read the feature on Dave Duerson, "Hard Hit," here.
